What Hurts
by Illidan the Half Demon
Summary: The final battle was concluded a year ago, but the results were too difficult for a certain hanyou to stand. This is a oneshot based off of the song written by Rascal Flatts called What Hurts the Most.


**What Hurts**

Rain was pouring down into the busy city of Tokyo, Japan. It fit the mood of a certain young man, who only sighed at it.

Staring out at the rain, he sighed once more. Taking a sniff of the air coming from the window, he wrinkled his nose at the scents coming to his nose.

"Damn toxic air…" he grunted.

Grabbing some clothes to wear, he slowly slipped on a pair of blue jeans, a white tank top, and finally put a button up red short sleeved shirt on. Careful not to poke a hole into his shirt with his sharp claws, he began buttoning his shirt up. Once finished, he grabbed a pair of socks and slipped them on. Looking around, he finally found his shoes and sat down on his bed to put them on.

Frowning when he stood, he softly growled. "_Even after a year, I still hate these damn things. I wish I could just go barefooted, but that would look too odd I guess._" he dejectedly thought.

Looking around his apartment, he let out a soft sigh. He had very little money and very little furniture, plus his one room apartment was so small, but he didn't mind. Not after all he had been through, he would suffer with the cramped quarters.

Glancing at the mirror, he picked up his hair brush and began to carefully brush his long white-silver hair. Being mindful not to hit his ears, he slowly brushed his hair till he was satisfied. Grabbing a hair knobby, he slowly bound his hair up within it till he finally had a long pony tail.

Taking another long look into the mirror, he sighed once more. Looking back in the mirror was a broken man, someone with barely enough will to live. His once shiny golden eyes were now dull and nearly void of life. His dog ears, which at one time were upright and usually twitching, were now drooping.

"Come on man, pull it together. She wouldn't want you to suffer like this." he softly spoke.

Thinking back to this very person, tears seemed to fill his eyes. Trying hard to push them back, he grabbed his CD player, a set of keys, and finally a red baseball cap.

Leaving his apartment, he made sure it was locked. Placing his earphones into his ears, he turned on the music and began walking as he pocketed his keys and placed his cap back on his head.

The music began playing slowly to a song he had long since worn out. It was the last song she had shared with him.

Lightly frowning, the young man frowned at the fact the song she had shared with him had been a song that would truly fit his life now. "_Ever since I lost her…_"

Fighting for sanity, he forced himself back on track. Walking out of the apartment area, he began his trek down the street to a nearby flower shop. Stopping there, he picked up a dozen roses and gave the woman the last of his money.

"_So much for Ramen this month…_" he mused.

Walking down the street, the song picked up. Listening closely, his thoughts turned to the song that she had told him was played by an American group called Rascal Flatts.

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me_

_What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

Moving along, he sighed. Looking up, the he felt the rain pelting his face since the bill of the cap was no longer protecting him from the rain. Thoughts of his past returned thanks to the song, which always seemed to take him back.

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A young man with long butt length white-silver hair with two dog ears, golden eyes, clawed fingers, wearing a red kimono made of a creature's fur known as a fire rat, a sword in it's scabbard at his side, and barefooted was sitting on a high branch in an old, large tree.

Catching the scent of a person he greatly cared for, he opened his eyes and leapt out of the tree and bound off towards an old well. Reaching it, he saw a young girl down in it with a large yellow backpack.

Helping pull her out, he smiled while his eyes glanced over her body. She had raven black hair that came down to her shoulder blades, beautiful doe brown eyes, and a body with many curves. She wore a simple green skirt that was rather short, a mostly white shirt with some green bands around her arms and a green collar with a red scarf tied up in the collar, and knee high socks with loafer shoes.

Smiling at him, the young woman said "Thanks."

"Keh, about time you got back." he grunted in reply.

Looking around, she asked "Where are the others?"

"Waiting for us at the village."

"Oh, ok." she said with a small smile.

Staring at her smile, he nearly completely forgot what he was going to ask. Calming himself, he finally spoke up, saying "There's something… something I wanted to talk to you about."

Raising an eyebrow, she asked "Oh?"

Taking a deep breath, he smiled, and nodded, saying "I… I wanted you to know something that I should have told you a long time ago. You're the… the most important person in my life, and… that I…"

Hearing a rustling in the bushes, the young man stopped as his ear twitched and he began to growl. Leaping into the air, he flew to the bushes and smacked the top of something, which produced a loud yelp. He then struck something else, causing yet another yelp of pain.

Standing up, a young man in black and purple robes with black hair that was tied up in a short pony tail stood up with a lump on his head. Beside of him, a young woman in a dark pink and light pink top with a long green skirt that had long brown hair that was free stood. A small light yellow cat like creature with black ears, feet, and a few stripes on it's tail was on the woman's shoulder. A small child with orange hair pulled up into a pony tail that had a fluffy tail, wearing a bluish-green shirt that had leaf prints and a yellow vest and blue pants was on the young man's shoulder that had on the black and purple robes. The small child had a lump on his head just like the young man he rode on.

"You damn spies, can't we have a moment alone!" the young man in red yelled, his fist clenched.

Rubbing his sore lump, the man in purple and black calmly said "Well, we didn't really see anything."

"I'll kill you all!" the man in red screamed as he chased after the group.

Chuckling, the young woman in the short green skirt shook her head and grabbed her large backpack and walked on.

Turning to see this, the man in red gave up his chase and sighed, turning around so the win caught his kimono and blew the large sleeves in the wind.

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Continuing to walk onwards, the young man soon found himself staring up at a set of familiar steps. At the top, a shrine sat.

"_A place that once housed my happiness…_" the young man sadly thought.

Slowly ascending the steps, the song continued on, making more memories of the past to flow into him.

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go  
But I'm doin' It  
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone  
Still Harder  
Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret  
But I know if I could do it over  
I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart  
That I left unspoken_

What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do

Normally, in the past, he'd have ascended the steps in a few leaps, but ever since that day his soul had shattered, he no longer did that. Not to mention, he was trying hard to fit in with the population, and explaining how he could bound up stairs in a few leaps would be difficult.

Slowly moving up the steps, his thoughts turned to the past, to the last day he had stayed in his time. It was the day he would never forget. He forsook all that he had known there to come here to live, just so he could be a bit closer to the one person he truly cared for.

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The tears that had been pouring out for the last few days had finally seemed to ease for everyone. The group that had fought the evil half demon Naraku gathered around in a hut, hoping to finally find some sort of peace.

Sitting in the corner, the young man with silver-white hair sat in quiet. His eyes were red and puffy from all the tears he had shed.

The remainder of the group sat around the fire. The woman in a long green skirt, along with the young child, and the man in black and purple robes. Another woman, an elderly one, with grey hair in a pony tail, that had an eye patch over her right eye, sat picking at the fire.

"Sad that the child is gone…" she sadly said.

The other three around the fire each slowly nodded, each with sadness on their faces. None saw that fresh tears spill out of the eyes of the half demon in the corner, but they knew the loss of their friend had affected him the most.

Standing up, he slowly stalked out of the hut and made it to the flapping door before the elderly woman asked "Where are ye headed?"

"To think." the half demon flatly replied.

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Two days after leaving, the half demon returned. The group had searched for him within the last two days, but nothing had been found, so they were thankful that he had returned.

Sadness hung over the half demon like a dark cloud, as he said "Guys, I'm going to take her body back to her family."

Each nodded, with the man in purple and black saying "Yeah, that would be for the best."

Looking down, the hanyou added "Also, I won't be back."

The entire group looked at him odd, with the woman with a long green skirt furiously asking "What!? What do you mean you won't be back!?"

"I'm going to live in her time. I think it's for the best, that way I can stay closer to her…"

Frowning, the man in purple and black responded "You realize she's dead, right? There isn't a chance to bring her back."

"I know." the hanyou bit out dejectedly. "Still, I want to live there."

The purple and black robed man was about to speak again when the elderly woman put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "I understand. Ye old dog wish to live out ye life in her time."

Nodding silently, the hanyou continued to avoid eye contact. The group all took it as a sign that he would do it no matter what.

"Well, the least we can do is wish you luck." the woman in a long green skirt said with a sad smile.

"Thanks…"

The next day, with the girl's body wrapped in a sheet, the hanyou jumped into the well, leaving behind the world he loved, along with a majority of his soul.

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Reaching the top of the steps, the young man glanced around for anyone there. He saw no one was out, which to him figured. Usually anymore, no one was around.

Stalking towards the same large old tree that always had brought him such great joy, he listened to the final chorus of the song.

_What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_

Not seeing that loving you  
That's what I was trying to do  
Ooohhh...

Memories came back to him of the final battle that the pair had shared in, and the last moments of the woman who had stolen his heart.

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The battle to complete the Sacred Jewel was a fierce and long one. Naraku waited for the group of fighters to arrive in silence. Once they gathered, the battle began.

For nearly an hour, the battle raged on, with the man in black and purple robes, along with the woman in a green long skirt, each getting many wounds. Both were finally forced back and let the young hanyou and woman with raven black hair fight alone.

In a combination attack, the pair prepared to finish the battle. Raising his large halberd sword, the half demon slammed it roughly into the ground and screamed out "WIND SCAR!"

At the same time, the young woman with raven black hair released a blue glowing arrow, yelling "GO!"

The twin attacks merged into one and soon prepared to finish the battle with the evil being. Before the blast could hit though, the evil Naraku had a different plan in mind.

Thrusting a tentacle forward, he aimed it straight for the red robed half demon. "DIE INUYASHA!" Naraku screamed as the blast neared him.

Not having the strength to move, the half demon watched the tentacle rushing towards him. Closing his eyes, he prepared for death, silently cursing himself for not saying and doing things he had wanted to.

"INUYASHA!" screamed out the woman's voice.

With his eyes still closed, Inuyasha felt himself being pushed. Opening his eyes, they went wide to find the woman had pushed him out of the path of the tentacle, but had put herself in the path instead.

The tentacle went straight into her chest with a sickening sound, making her gasp out in shock. Moments later, the blast struck Naraku, destroying his body completely. The tentacle was then purified and vanished from the girl's chest, but it was too late.

She began to fall backwards, but the half demon was quick enough to grab hold of her and gently set her on the ground. Staring at the wound in her chest, he shuttered, knowing what was going to happen.

Looking in her eyes, he cried out "KAGOME! WHY, WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

Softly smiling up at him as tears trickled down her cheeks, she weakly replied "I'm sorry Inuyasha."

Her heart rate was slowing, causing her eyes to begin to dim. With her last breaths, she wheezed out "I love you Inuyasha."

That said, Kagome's eyes dimmed and closed. Her breathing stopped and she let out one last ragged breath.

Staring at the girl with tears still falling down her cheeks, Inuyasha yelled out "NO, PLEASE, DON'T GO! I NEED YOU KAGOME! DON'T LEAVE ME NOW! PLEASE, OPEN YOUR EYES!"

Holding her close to his chest, he let loose tears that he thought he no longer had. Sobbing, he cried out "Please, Kagome, come back! I need you! Please…"

Pulling back and hoping to see the most beautiful brown eyes opened and staring at him, he sobbed even more. Her eyes stayed shut, causing him to only pull back into her, sobbing even more.

"I'm sorry too… I love you Kagome." he sobbed out with full emotion.

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Tears began to slowly fill the half demon's eyes as he approached the grave marker underneath of the tree. Turning off the CD player, he threw it to the side and gently set down on one knee.

Placing the roses onto the grave, he gently inched forward to stroke the picture of the girl and himself. She had taken it only a week before her death. In it, it had her with his arm around her waist. He had a faint blush in the picture, as did she.

Softly stroking it, but being mindful of his claws, he softly smiled and stood. Looking down at the marker, he read aloud "Kagome Higurashi, a beloved daughter and friend."

Looking at the marker, Inuyasha's softly said "I love you Kagome."


End file.
